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 494 PIAST PIAZZA ARMERINA teachers the rank of a religious congregation, and in 1621 Gregory XV. gave them all the privileges of a religious order. The same pope in 1622 confirmed their rule, and appointed Oasalanza their first general. The order was suppressed by Innocent X., in consequence of serious internal dissensions, but reestablished by Clement IX. It spread rapidly through Italy, Germany, and Poland, and became em- inently popular. The Piarists suffered less than any other order from the reformatory decrees of Joseph II. of Austria, and were ex- empted from the general suppression of con- vents in Spain in 1836. More recently they were equally favored in the Sardinian domin- ions. In 1860 they possessed 28 houses in Italy, 33 in Germany, 32 in Hungary and its dependencies, 14 in Poland, and about 30 in Spain. They are now suppressed in Italy, like other religious orders. In 1870 they had 29 houses in Oisleithan Austria, about an equal number in Hungary, and a few in Poland and Spain. At the head of the order is a general, who is elected by the general chapter for six years, and resides together with a procurator general and two assistants at Rome. Every province is governed by a provincial, and every college has a rector and vice rector. PIAST, Dynasty of. See POLAND. PIASTER (Span, and Ital. piattra), a silver coin and money of account, used chiefly in Turkey and the Levant, and called in Turkish ghersJi. It is of very variable value. The actual present value of the official piaster of Constantinople is 4-383 cents, but it is reckoned in the United States at 4*369 cents. This is the 100th part of the gold coin called a med- jidie. The small coin called a piaster, about the size of a half dime, is worth about 4 cents. The term piaster is also applied to the Spanish and Italian dollars, and is used in South Amer- ica and the West Indies. PIATT, an E. central county of Illinois, in- tersected by the Sangamon river; area, 275 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 10,953. The surface is level and the soil fertile. It is traversed by the Toledo, Wabash, and Western, the Monti- cello, and the Indianapolis, Bloomington, and Western railroads, and other lines. The chief productions in 1870 were 66,144 bushels of wheat, 1,029,725 of Indian corn, 130,610 of oats, 33,675 of potatoes, 106,476 Ibs. of butter, and 9,455 tons of hay. There were 3,483 horses, 7,497 cattle, 3,180 sheep, and 12,654 swine. Capital, Monticello. PIATT. I. John James, an American poet, born in Dearborn co., Ind., March 1, 1835. He was educated at Kenyon college, and in 1857 he contributed poems to the Louisville " Journal," and in 1859 to the " Atlantic Monthly." In conjunction with W. D. Howells, he published " Poems of Two Friends " (Co- lumbus, O., 1860), and with his wife, "The Nests at Washington, and other Poems " (New York, 1864) ; and he has since published " Poems in Sunshine and Firelight " (Cincin- nati, 1866), "Western Windows, and other Poems" (New York, 1869), and " Landmarks, and other Poems" (1871). He resides near Cincinnati. II. Sarah Morgan Bryan, wife of the preceding, born near Lexington, Ky., Aug. 11, 1836. Besides the volume of poems published with her husband, she has published " A Wo- man's Poems " (Boston, 1871), and " A Voy- age to the Fortunate Isles " (1874). PIAUHY, a N. E. province of Brazil, bounded N. by the Atlantic, E. by Ceara and Pernam- buco, S. by Bahia and Goyaz, and W. by Ma- ranhao ; area, 94,500 sq. m. ; pop. in 1871, 232,000. Piauhy has but 20 m. of seaboard, and only one port, at the mouth of the main stream of the Parnahyba. The face of the country, generally low in the coast region, swells toward the east and south, and culmi- nates in the Serras Vermelha and dos Dous Irmaos, which on the boundary with Pernam- buco form a sort of narrow plateau attaining a maximum elevation of 1,500 ft. above the sea. The whole province is watered by the Parna- hyba and its tributaries. The Parnahyba rises on the border of Goyaz, and flows generally N. N. E. through a more or less swampy coun- try to the sea, into which it falls through six mouths. Its entire length is estimated at 990 m., and it is said to be navigable for 780 m. The principal affluents are the Gurgueia, Piau- hy, CanindS, and Poty. The climate is hot and somewhat damp and insalubrious, particu- larly in the low grounds near the rivers. The soil is for the most part fertile. The vegeta- tion is locally distinguished into the mimosa of the east, characterized by catinga forests, with plants copiously furnished with hairs and prickles, stiff leaves, small flowers, a very ten- der fibre, and not unf requently a milky juice ; and the campos agrestes of the west country, in which forests of gnarled and stunted trees, palms, and open plains alternate. The pasture grounds of the last support a rich, coarse per- ennial grass. Agriculture is backward. The principal cultivated produqts are cereals, cotton, the sugar cane, mandioca, and tobacco. Cattle rearing is the chief industry of the province, and the principal manufactures are rum and sugar. The roads are extremely bad, and the means of transport very inefficient. Educa- tion receives a fair share of attention, there being, according to last reports, 68 schools, 11 of which are private, and 25 for females, with a total of 1,738 pupils, of whom 456 are fe- males. The capital, Therezina, has a lyceum; and Oeiras and Amarante have each a college. The only other town of importance is Parna- hyba, the port, which is exceedingly unhealthy. PIAZZA ARMERINA, a town of Sicily, in the province and 17 m. S. E. of the city of Cal- tanisetta ; pop. about 23,000. It is situated on the crests and slopes of an isolated hill more than 1,500 ft. high, rising in the midst ol luxuriant foliage. The vicinity abounds with pine and other trees, and from its abundance of shade tempering the summer heat it has